HubSpot Scoring Woes? How to Handle Score Decay and Recalibration

HubSpot's lead scoring is a powerful tool, but sometimes it feels like it has limitations. What happens when you need to reduce a contact's score in a way that HubSpot doesn't natively support? That's exactly the challenge one HubSpot user brought to the community, sparking a helpful discussion about score decay.

The Challenge: Decaying Lead Scores in HubSpot

The original poster wanted to subtract 100 points from a contact's total score in two specific scenarios:

1. SQL Aging: Contacts become Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) at a score of 100+, but the user didn't want them to remain in that stage indefinitely. After 90 days as an SQL, they wanted to reduce the score to move them back to MQL status. The issue? HubSpot's scoring settings only allow subtracting from either "Fit" or "Engagement," not the overall score.
2. Lead Status = Needs Nurturing: When a lead's status changes to "Needs Nurturing," the user wanted to subtract 100 points. Again, the limitation of subtracting only from "Fit" or "Engagement" created a problem.

The core issue: HubSpot doesn't offer a direct way to subtract a fixed amount from the total score, regardless of how that score is distributed between Fit and Engagement categories.

Exploring Workarounds: Resetting vs. Decaying

One community member suggested leveraging HubSpot workflows. While not a perfect solution for decaying the score, it offered a viable alternative: resetting the score after a certain period.

Here’s how that approach would work:

1. Enrollment Trigger: Enroll contacts into a workflow based on a date property (e.g., 90 days after becoming an SQL).
2. Action: Use the "Clear property value" action in the workflow to reset the contact's score to zero.

For scenarios where you want to remove a significant chunk of points (like 100 in this case), resetting the score can effectively achieve the same result as decaying it.

Important Note: Read-Only Properties

One potential snag: HubSpot's default "Score" property is often read-only, meaning you can't directly modify it within a workflow using the "Set property value" action. Resetting (clearing) the value might be the only option here.

Alternative Strategies for Score Management

While the community discussion focused on resetting the score, here are a few other strategies to consider for managing lead scores effectively:

• Dynamic Lists: Instead of relying solely on the score property, use dynamic lists to segment contacts based on their behavior and engagement. This allows for more granular control over who is considered an SQL.
• Lifecycle Stage Automation: Use workflows to automatically move contacts between lifecycle stages based on their score and behavior. This can help ensure that contacts don't get "stuck" in a particular stage.
• Refine Scoring Criteria: Regularly review and adjust your scoring criteria to ensure they accurately reflect your ideal customer profile and their engagement with your business. This might involve adding new scoring rules or modifying existing ones.

ESHOPMAN Team Comment

The HubSpot Community thread highlights a common frustration: the inflexibility of the native scoring system. While a true "decay" function would be ideal, the suggested workaround of resetting the score is a practical solution. However, we at ESHOPMAN believe that integrating e-commerce data directly into HubSpot scoring would provide a much richer and more accurate view of customer engagement. This would allow for automated score adjustments based on purchase history, order value, and other key e-commerce metrics, leading to more effective lead qualification and sales strategies.

Ultimately, managing lead scores effectively requires a combination of strategy, automation, and a willingness to adapt to the limitations of the platform. By understanding the available workarounds and continuously refining your scoring criteria, you can ensure that your lead scoring system remains a valuable tool for driving sales and revenue.